As the winter semester 2022/23 got underway, the campuses in Kleve and Kamp-Lintfort were once again a vibrant mix of colour, music and sport. Freshers’ Week 2022, which began on 19 September 2022 with a welcome event for first-year students, concluded with the traditional Homecoming Cup on the Kleve campus after a week packed with a wide range of information sessions and leisure activities.
Freshers’ Week for the 778 new first-year students (as at 16 September) began with a first: for the first time ever, the welcome event for first-year students took place simultaneously at both campuses – via a live link to the other campus and also online. Following the recent online semesters, University President Dr Oliver Locker-Grütjen was delighted to welcome students from all faculties to the two packed lecture theatres. In his address, the University President highlighted what makes the university special: newcomers to HSRW would find an open, friendly and international atmosphere here that puts students first.
Kleve’s Mayor, Wolfgang Gebing, expressed his delight that students from many different countries had come to Kleve. In Kleve, he said, they would find a charming town that is open to students and which – he hoped – could become a second home for them. Ulrike Plitt, deputy mayor of Kamp-Lintfort, also welcomed the students to her town: the university offers the best conditions for the students’ future, and the town is immensely proud to bear the title ‘university town’.
Alongside various information events such as ‘How to survive in Germany?’, the new students were offered plenty of opportunities to get to know their new home and university through library, campus and city tours, as well as the Freshers’ Market and a wide range of sporting activities. Things took a musical and varied turn at the ‘HSRW’s Got Talent’ talent show and the Music Nights: here, students were able to showcase their talents and delight not only their fellow students but also many interested residents of Kleve and Kamp-Lintfort, encouraging them to sing and dance along until late into the evening.
The sporting finale to Freshers’ Week was the traditional Homecoming Cup on the Kleve campus. Hundreds of students gathered in small groups to tackle the course together, which took them across both water and land on campus. As well as a short stretch in canoes on the Spoy Canal, the relay race consisted of various obstacles and hurdles that had to be negotiated by bike and on foot. The highlight was the wooden wall, over four metres high, which could only be scaled through combined efforts and plenty of team spirit. The participants were cheered on by their fellow students and, in particular, by the organiser, Prof. Dr William Megill.
Our thanks go to everyone involved in organising this varied programme, and especially to the Friends of Rhein-Waal University – Cleve Campus e.V. for their support of the Homecoming Cup.
